Katie has been about the same for the last few days. She has been running a fever and her heart rate has been kind of high lately; however, that is most likely a symptom of what she has. They still went ahead and moved her down a floor so that they can keep a better eye on her. She is in the PCU (progressive care unit) for neurology and neuroscience, which is for the patients who do not need to be in the ICU, but still need to be looked at and monitored more often. She has also been having episodes that look like seizures, but they are not which is a good thing. The doctors there have her protected though to where she cannot hurt herself while these episodes are happening and they have a camera on her 24/7, so Katie is always being watched.
Right now they are thinking that Katie has a disorder called Anti-NMDA receptor antibody and I know I didn't mention it earlier but I thought I would. They have not received the results back from the Mayo Clinic to confirm it yet, but still wanted to start on the treatment. So we are still not a 100% sure that this is what she has. The Anti-NMDA receptor antibody is mainly a disorder where the anti-bodies in her body are acting inappropriately and attacking her brain. This disorder is very new and has only been around and had a name for about five years. If you look up the disorder online it may be helpful to understand because it is confusing. As of now the treatment they are doing is called pheresis which is where they take out some of her blood at a time and spin it. When they spin the blood it separates the blood from the plasma and they get rid of the plasma because they believe that is where the bad anti-bodies are. This procedure will have to be done several times and it will take a while before we will see any difference in Katie.
On a different note, I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!! Also, do not forget to tell your family and friends how much you love and care for them because you never know when they may not be there anymore. Have a wonderful holiday and thank you again for all the support and prayers!
Everything happens for a reason!
